Posted by Marla Mallett on July 02, 1999 at 16:07:10:
In Reply to: Re: Shahsavan Mafrash Panel - A younger one this time posted by Wendel Swan on July 02, 1999 at 11:32:09:
A couple of observations on the yellow MINOR BORDERS in Steve's two Shahsevan soumak mafrash panels:
From my perspective, the border in the first panel clearly has SLIT-TAPESTRY roots, while that in the second is an almost direct copy of a common WEFT-SUBSTITUTION border (just take a look at the skirts on a few Baluch rugs or the saddlebag on page 130 in my book), with still deeper roots in brocading techniques. I cannot view one border as a degraded (or "evolved") version of the other, but rather see the two motifs as design entities with entirely separate histories. I have seen both old and young soumak examples of each. The differences between the two are subtle, but based absolutely on structural requirements in the original media.
Cheers,
Marla